Our people

Ronnie Heath – Managing Director

Ronnie leads a national and international team of creators who are finding ways to provide the best possible early experiences for 4-11 year olds, creating positive relationships with physical activity for life. Ronnie, a former leader in education, award-winning National League coach and National Trainer, established Create in 2006 to inspire teachers and coaches to better include, engage and challenge all young learners. In addition to being an innovative and groundbreaking author and speaker, Ronnie provides inspiring thought leadership to change the culture of PE and Sport.

John Parsons – Director of Innovation for PE and Sport

Following four years at Chelsea Football Club, John went on to do a Joint Honours degree in History and Politics at Nottingham University. This was followed by a scholarship in the United States where he combined academia and sport by playing and coaching University football whilst gaining a M.Sc. in Primary Education. Following seven years in teaching and coaching, John went on to become Sports Coach UK’s London Regional Manager, their National Lead for Multi-skills and Fundamental Movement Skills and a FA Coach Educator. At Create, he has led nationally on developing products and solutions, including FUNS for everyone, Raising the Bar and the acclaimed real PE programme and has now taken on the role of Director of Innovation. As an outstanding Tutor and facilitator, John has contributed to the development of thousands of teachers and coaches.

Tim Dancer – Director, South

Tim is the co-author of Learn to Compete, Compete to Learn, a key component of the highly acclaimed real PE programme and also developed the ‘Leadership into Employability’ programme. His inspiring love and excitement for PE, Sport and learning has taken him across many continents. From studying in the US to developing PE in South Africa and Abu Dhabi, Tim has worked at local, county, national and international levels. He chaired the 2012 Legacy group for Sport, Schools and Young People for the Olympic and Paralympic venue of Dorney Lake.

Pam Stevenson – Director, North

As Director of Delivery, Pam plays a lead role in ensuring Create’s courses are delivered with the infectious enthusiasm that she displays daily. After teaching PE, Pam went as a volunteer to Swaziland to set up sports programmes for disabled people and train the staff. Afterwards she took up a lecturing post at Liverpool Community College. She has written and delivered inclusion resources and training packages for the Youth Sport Trust, sports coach UK, English Federation of Disability Sport and major companies. Pam co-authored key resources for real PE, including First FUNS and Learn to Compete, Compete to Learn. More recently she led the creative team in the development of a full range of market leading products, services and support in the form of real Play. Pam has transformed the delivery of our work force, leading nationally to ensure that Create inspires and motivates Tutors, coaches and teachers alike through its courses.

Sehra Mushtaq – Operations Manager

Sehra is the pivot around which Create revolves. She oversees the smooth and efficient day-to- day running of general operations at Head Office in Harrow. Sehra came to us in 2014 having previously worked in the vehicle movement industry and on e-commerce sites as an Accounts Executive. Her calm efficiency along with her eye for detail ensures the smooth running of the organisation. She works closely with all Create staff as well as external stakeholders and is responsible for the development and implementation of organisational strategies, policies and practices.

Jolene Barrett – Marketing Manager

Jolene has over 15 years’ marketing and business development experience in the education sector. Her previous marketing roles included working for the UK’s largest educational expedition provider (which provided personal development programmes for students) and a charity that provided Continuing Professional Development for teachers and acted as a broker between education and business. Jolene is enthusiastic about making a difference in education by improving teaching and learning.

East

Rob McCombe – Regional Manager, East

Rob is an experienced trainer who worked as a Head of Boys’ PE before becoming the Partnership Development Manager of a School Sports Partnership for over 7 years. Within his partnership, he has provided guidance and advice to schools around developing and improving provision in PE and Sport as well as delivering Leadership Training to pupils and adults. For 4 years Rob worked as part of the Youth Sport Trust’s National Faculty. Outside of work, Rob has been coaching talented footballers in the Norfolk County Schools set-up for the last 8 years. Having tutored for Create Development for the past 2 years, Rob took on the role of Regional Manager for the Eastern region in January 2016 and is looking forward to developing Create’s presence in this area over the coming months and years.

London

Nathalie Fitzgerald – Regional Manager, London

Nathalie trained as a teacher and has worked across both primary and secondary phases. In 2006, she moved into an advisory role and has since been a Partnership Development Manager, a Sport and Education consultant and Senior Leader in a London primary school. Having previously worked as a Tutor and facilitator for Create, Nathalie has now taken over as our Regional Manager for London, managing a team of Tutors delivering across the city.

Agata Maj – Tutor, London and South East

Agata, a former double world champion in dance (2004 and 2005), works for Create as a real PE and real gym Tutor for London and South East. Qualified as both a primary and secondary PE teacher, Agata has MScs in both Physical Education & Health and Professional Communication. Agata excels in her role as International Relations Coordinator and Competition Director for the International Dance Federation, where she continues to develop the structure of global dance sport competitions. She also worked as Venue Protocol Team Leader at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games during events in fencing, taekwondo and boccia. Agata has over a decade of experience working for a number of School Sport Partnerships, and is currently School Games Organiser and PE and Sport Development Officer in Croydon, as well as a key member of the London Youth Games Cultural Steering Group.

Sarah Thorp – Tutor, China, London and Hertfordshire

Sarah is an Independent Education Consultant and has extensive experience as an international and national lead trainer in both primary and secondary education, and in event management. Her work includes: designing and revising education policy; delivering workshops and training programmes worldwide; and creating learning resources. Sarah was an International Lead trainer delivering the London 2012 Legacy programme, ‘International Inspiration’ and is leading delivery for the National Leadership Academy, Wales. Currently Sarah is a National Lead Tutor for Create supporting the London and Hertfordshire region in the delivery of real PE, real gym and inclusion programmes. She is also an International Lead Tutor and is leading on the development, design and delivery of real PE China and First FUNSChina in 4 provinces of China.

Midlands

Cathy Brown – Regional Manager, Midlands

After gaining a Masters Degree in Sports Development from the University of Gloucester, Cathy worked in the sports development sector for over 15 years and was a lead Tutor for sports coach UK. At Northamptonshire Sport, she gained vast experience of work with the County Sports Partnership Network. She established, developed and supported a number of school initiatives including Continuing Professional Development for teachers, events and quality assurance for schools working with external providers. In addition, Cathy established the Northamptonshire Coaching Service which operates in over a third of schools across the county. Cathy has brought this wealth of experience to Create and now plays a fundamental role in supporting schools across the Midlands to integrate Create’s resources into their work.

Neil Balliston – Tutor, Midlands

Neil has a primary school background having taught in two Birmingham schools with responsibility for developing PE both in and out of school. In 2000, he moved to Northamptonshire where he continued to teach with senior management responsibility before becoming Headteacher at a Northamptonshire primary school. In 2014, he established Valuing Education, a company which works with many schools on a consultancy basis linked to PE and values-based education. Neil joined Create’s team of Tutors in 2015 and focuses on real PE and Family FUNS across the Midlands.

North

Phill O’Brien – Client Manager, North

Phill has spent a career building the capacity of others and of their organisations. Whether working with pupils with learning difficulties, junior sports enthusiasts, teachers or chief executives and elected members in local authorities Phill is skillful at tailoring his skills to the needs of the audience. Trained in primary PE and experienced at working in the fields of education, social care, sports development and management consultancy he is also M.Ed., a M.A. and has a host of coaching qualifications. As a volunteer coach, Phill (Lancashire Cricket Boards Coach of the Year 2014) has been instrumental in driving a culture of junior development within the cricket community in Liverpool.

Lesley Doughty – Tutor, North East

Lesley currently works as a Tutor for Create in the North of England. After teaching in various primary schools, Lesley worked as an advisory teacher for PE and Sport in both Newcastle and Northumberland local authorities. She followed this by becoming an independent PE and Sport consultant delivering and developing training programmes for teachers for a wide variety of local, regional and national organisations including Sport England, Youth Sport Trust, Sports Coach UK and numerous School Sport Partnerships and universities. Lesley has also authored teaching resources for the Youth Sport Trust and Canoe England and is co-author of Create’s First FUNS resource, which forms part of real PE and Family FUNS.

Lindsy James – Tutor, Doncaster

As a National Tutor for Create Lindsy develops and reinforces teachers’ passion for PE and supporting children to develop positive relationships with physical activity for life. She is also a Director of Active Fusion, the largest provider of professional development, leadership and competition across Doncaster and supports in areas of South Yorkshire. As well as a freelance national trainer and resource development writer for a number of national sports organisations, Lindsy is also a competitive athlete and successful volunteer fundraiser for various children’s charities.

Jan Parker – Tutor, North

Jan has enjoyed a successful teaching career spanning more years than she cares to remember and has held posts in both secondary and primary schools. In 2002, she was awarded Advanced Skills Teacher status with a specific role for primary PE which was followed in 2004 by her appointment as PE Consultant for Warrington. She successfully led and managed the national Continuing Professional Development programme as part of the PE, School Sport and Club Links strategy. As a LA officer, she also gave the strategic lead for PE and Sport across the borough. Nationally, Jan sits on the Association for PE (AfPE) Health and Safety Panel and has contributed to the latest “Safe Practice in PE and Sport” guidance. She is also a validator for the AfPE “Quality Mark”. As a PE specialist, Jan is passionate about the impact the subject can have on pupils’ learning across the whole curriculum and loves to support good teachers to become amazing teachers of PE.

Vikki Roberts – Tutor, North

Vikki works as one of Create’s tutors and is involved in the delivery of real PE, real gym and Family FUNS. She has worked in the field of PE and school sport since qualifying as a physical educationalist in 2001. Vikki was a PE teacher for 10 years, and developed a love of primary teaching through her Assistant Partnership Development Manager and School Sport Coordinator roles, helping to drive improvements in PE and school sport across primary, special and secondary Schools in Warrington.

South

Mandy Quill – Tutor, South

Mandy has been linked to teaching Physical Education for more than 30 years. She taught PE in several comprehensive schools until April 2003 when she was appointed Partnership Development Manager for Hampshire. After being awarded a research grant, Mandy became involved in planning and running British Council Sports Leadership training camps for teachers and students in South Africa. She has also co-authored a book on teaching leadership and authored PE resources for different national organisations. In 2012 she was recognised by British Gymnastics for her contribution to education and was awarded an Olympic Legacy grant for making gymnastics accessible to young people with a disability. Mandy joined the Create Development team in 2014 and is enjoying working with an inspired group of professional innovators

South East

Laura Brookstein – Regional Manager, South East

Laura graduated with a degree in Sports Science from the University of Nottingham and has worked for the Youth Sport Trust, a local authority in South Gloucestershire and West of England CSP, in which she worked on leadership and volunteering programmes. Laura then became the RFU’s National Workforce Development Executive where she was responsible for writing their Youth Strategy, their VRugby programme and starting their Youth Council plans. Laura discovered Create in 2012 during her time at the Slough School Sport Network, where she had previously worked as Partnership Development Manager, and now works as Network Manager. This partnership has gone from strength to strength in last three years, winning ‘Partner of the Year’ in the 2015 Create Development National Awards. This led to Laura taking on her current role as Regional Manager, leading a team of innovators across South East region.

Jason Elwell – Tutor, South East

Jason started his career in PE and sport as the Head Coach at the International School of London after gaining his diploma in Applied Sciences (Sports Science) and UEFA B Licence in Football Coaching. He then went on to become a PE specialist and Subject Leader at a primary school for 10 years where he developed the PE curriculum and trained the wider staff to deliver outstanding PE. Whilst in this post he took on various other roles including working with the Berks & Bucks County FA and acting as a School Sport Coordinator (SSCo). He also helped shape and develop the early stages of the real PE programme. Jason has supported many practitioners, schools and Partners in their implementation and development of real PE over the years. Jason is a Tutor for all Create programmes with a particular focus on the real PE Team Teach delivery.

South West

Gill Cameron – Devon County Manager

Gill is a PE teacher with 15 years’ experience across both primary and secondary phases. Gill worked for the Youth Sport Trust as both Regional Manager and Development Manager for Leadership and Volunteering and went on to create, manage and develop the Young Ambassador Programme as part of the London 2012 Legacy. Gill has also supported the development of primary PE resource ‘Champions’ for Rising Stars UK, which was awarded the ‘Whole Curriculum Subject Resource Award’ for 2015, and has worked as a consultant on the Youth Sports Trust Athlete Mentor Programme. In her role as Devon County Manager Gill is working with Primary Schools across Devon to roll out Create programmes. She has also been significantly involved in developing our real leaders programme.

Sarah Moon – real gym Lead and County Manager

Sarah was Head Coach for the Team GB Rhythmic Gymnastics group at the 2012 London Olympics as well as coach of the England Team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. She is also a qualified British gymnastics tutor Master Coach and High Performance Coach, National Judge and a winner of Sports Coach UK’s ‘Community Coach of the Year’ award. Sarah has also worked for many years at a community club and with primary schools across Somerset, teaching all aspects of PE. She has now written and developed the vibrant and innovative real gym programme for Create and is employing her incredibly broad skills and knowledge to deliver courses nationally with a focus on the South and South West, helping schools enable, enrich and extend all children in PE and Sport.

Toni Smyth – Somerset County Manager

A former Head of PE, Toni gained a Masters in PE and went on to become a higher education lecturer in Sport and PE. After a number of years working for professional rugby clubs developing their community programmes, she returned to education in the South West. Toni currently tutors for Create in Somerset employing her breadth of skills and knowledge to deliver courses throughout the county to help schools include, challenge and support all children in PE and Sport. In her role with the local County Sports Partnership, Toni works closely with primary schools to develop their PE curriculum.

Mark Templeton – Tutor, South West

Mark has had 17 years as a primary practitioner and PE Leader in Somerset schools. He has a wealth of experience using the Create resources in a primary setting and has tutored schools in the South West as part of Sports Premium Continuing Professional Development. Mark was awarded the Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership ‘Contribution to School Sport’ award in 2014. He was also awarded ‘School Advocate of the Year (South West)’, whilst North Town Primary School, in which he is based, was awarded ‘School of the Year (South West) at the 2015 Create Development National Awards.

Central Support

Phaminey Suntharalingam – Finance Coordinator

Phaminey joined Create as Finance Assistant having graduated in Mathematics from the University of Hertfordshire. As her title suggests, Phaminey keeps her eye on incomings and outgoings at Create and prepares information for the board. Alongside her work, Phaminey is currently studying for her Level 1 (Chartered Finance Assistant) exam and in her spare time enjoys reading, exercising and socialising.

Danielle Haynes – Marketing Assistant

Danielle previously worked closely with teachers and schools as a recruiter. Having seen the struggles of teachers she’s passionate to share how Create’s programmes can transform lessons, schools and pupils. Her primary responsibilities include promoting programmes, research, writing news pieces, managing the Create blog and supporting Create’s presence at conferences.

Marta Gelo – Administrative Assistant

Marta has taken on the role of coordinating and supporting all the Create courses across the country. She also supports the Create Development Wheel (CD Wheel) platform.

Graham Jones – Business Coach

Graham has been involved in the ‘people’ industry, primarily sport and physical activity, for over 20 years both as a participant and as an employee. His greatest honour to date was leading on the coaching strand of the 2012 Olympic Legacy programme for Sport England. Graham has worked from grassroots to the boardroom, developing a distinctive suite of skills, particularly the ability to appropriately motivate, stimulate and challenge.Graham recognises that the learning transformation begins with oneself through the lens of curiosity and respect, rather than fear and avoidance. He works at empowering learners to embrace their thoughts and feelings and thus affords them the possibility to learn from themselves. Graham is committed to providing creative and constructive ways of learning in which people can express themselves within a safe and supportive environment.

Spencer Roberts – Managing/Creative Director, Smooth

Smooth and Create have a strong relationship and work hand in hand to help transform unique ideas and products into original, engaging and successful visual communications. Spencer is a hands-on Creative Director who is creatively driven and believes anything is possible with an optimistic, ‘loving what we do’ focus and can-do attitude. With over more than two decades of experience within the world of design, he comes from a full service medium and big agency background. Starting out as a humble finished artist in a small studio, Spencer went on to managing creative design teams through to project managing small, medium and blue-chip clients across a wide variety of sectors. He is married, a proud father to twin daughters, and is a multi-instrumentalist.

Colourtone

Colourtone Print and Graphics started life almost 30 years ago when Richard Goring and Keith Phillips brought together their reprographic and printing expertise and set up a traditional print workshop in some converted pig sties. The original site now houses a modern factory and design studio together with packing and warehousing space – much of which is taken up with Create products. Colourtone has a friendly and loyal team of staff, many of whom have been with them for over 15 years and have helped with the growth and diversification of Colourtone. Create’s Managing Director, Ronnie Heath, was already well known to Colourtone through his involvement in the Taunton Tigers Basketball team and went to Colourtone back in 2007 as the Create brand was being launched. Since that time the two companies have worked closely together to form a strong working relationship.

Want to know more about Create Development?

Some kind words

Create Development Wheel has transformed my teaching and the way my pupils learn.

Simon Scarborough, Senior Leadership Team, Bath Community Academy.

The Create Development Wheel has provided the foundation and backbone of how we plan, monitor and assess progress and learning at The Springfields Academy.

Matt Lloyd, Head of PE, The Springfields Academy, Wiltshire.

For us, this form of assessment is not only the most advanced way we have discovered so far but it is also far and away the best.